Onity Group (NYSE: ONIT) appoints Aulene Wessel as Chief Accounting Officer
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Onity Group Inc. appointed Aulene Wessel as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, effective February 23, 2026, succeeding Francois Grunenwald, who will leave the company after a transition period and whose departure is stated not to stem from any accounting-related disagreement.
Wessel brings senior accounting and financial reporting experience from Truist Bank, SoFi Technologies, Silicon Valley Bank and American Express. Her compensation includes annual base salary of
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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On February 24, 2026, Onity Group Inc. (“Onity” or the “Company”) announced that Aulene Wessel has joined Onity effective February 23, 2026 as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer.
Ms. Wessel, 43, served as Executive Vice President and Deputy Controller at Truist Bank from August 2024 through February 2026. She previously served as Head of Financial Reporting and Policy at SoFi Technologies from September 2023 through August 2024 and as Head of Accounting Implementation and Head of Accounting Policy at Silicon Valley Bank from May 2021 through June 2023. From 2008 through 2021 she also served in leadership roles at American Express, including most recently as Vice President and Controller, Global Merchant Services and Loyalty. Among other roles, she also previously served as a Finance Business Partner at Barclays and as an Audit Senior at BDO. Ms. Wessel holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting postgraduate degree from the University of Natal, South Africa. She is certified as a Chartered Global Management Accountant in the United Kingdom by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Under the terms of her offer letter with the Company, Ms. Wessel’s compensation will consist of an annual base salary of $435,000 and an annual cash target incentive of $235,000 (with actual payout to be determined by the Company’s Compensation and Human Capital Committee in its discretion based on Ms. Wessel’s performance and the Company’s performance for the relevant year). Ms. Wessel will also receive a cash sign-on bonus of $455,000 upon commencement of employment and $70,000 payable within 30 days following her six-month employment anniversary, which will be subject to repayment if Ms. Wessel resigns within 24 months of each payment. Upon commencement of employment, Ms. Wessel will be granted cash-settled restricted stock units with a target value of $250,000, vesting in three tranches between the six-month and 24-month anniversaries of employment. During 2026, and subject to the approval of the Compensation and Human Capital Committee, the Company will also grant Ms. Wessel a long-term incentive award under the Company’s 2021 Equity Incentive Plan with a target value of $250,000.
Ms. Wessel succeeds Francois Grunenwald in the role of Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Grunenwald will be leaving the Company following a transition period. Mr. Grunenwald will receive severance benefits as provided under the Company’s United States Basic Severance Plan as well as payment of his 2025 annual cash incentive with a target value of $251,000, with actual payout to be determined by the Company’s Compensation and Human Capital Committee in its discretion based on the Company’s 2025 performance. Mr. Grunenwald’s departure is not due to any disagreement with the Company relating to its accounting operations, policies or practices. The Company thanks Mr. Grunenwald for his meaningful contributions over six years of service.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit Number |
Description | |
| 99.1 | Press Release of Onity Group Inc. dated February 24, 2026 | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File formatted in online XBRL (included as Exhibit 101) |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.
| ONITY GROUP INC. | ||
| (Registrant) | ||
| Date: February 24, 2026 | By: | /s/ Sean B. O’Neil |
| Sean B. O’Neil | ||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||
Exhibit 99.1
 |
Onity Group Inc. |
ONITY GROUP NAMES AULENE WESSEL SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER
West Palm Beach, FL – (February 24, 2026) – Onity Group Inc. (NYSE: ONIT) (“Onity” or the “Company”) today announced that Aulene Wessel has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, effective February 23, 2026. Ms. Wessel reports to Sean O’Neil, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Onity.
Ms. Wessel is responsible for providing strategic leadership of the controllership function, overseeing all core accounting operations, internal controls, technical accounting, audits, and third-party service providers utilized for these services, as well as ensuring compliance with GAAP and other applicable regulations, rules and laws.
“We are pleased to welcome Aulene to the Company,” said O’Neil. “Aulene brings deep technical accounting, SEC reporting, and operational controllership expertise, along with a broad background spanning financial services and consumer finance. Her strong technical expertise and collaborative leadership approach will be instrumental in driving informed decision-making across the enterprise, bringing rigorous insight and sound judgment, and ensuring disciplined execution and accounting compliance.”
Ms. Wessel succeeds Francois Grunenwald, who will be leaving the Company after a transition period to pursue opportunities outside of Onity.
“I want to sincerely thank Francois for more than six years of dedicated service and meaningful contributions,” said O’Neil. “Over this time, he has been a trusted leader and partner, leaving a lasting positive impact on our Finance organization and the broader Company. I am also appreciative of Francois’ willingness to remain with us for a brief period to support a seamless transition. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Aulene Wessel Background
Aulene Wessel most recently served as Executive Vice President and Deputy Controller at Truist Bank. Prior to that, she served as Head of Financial Reporting and Policy at SoFi Technologies. Previously, Aulene served as Head of Accounting Implementation and earlier as Head of Accounting Policy at Silicon Valley Bank. She also served in leadership roles at American Express, including Vice President and Controller, Global Merchant Services and Loyalty and Vice President, Global Accounting Policy and Advisory. Earlier in her career, she worked at Barclays in London, UK and BDO in Cape Town, South Africa. Aulene holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting postgraduate degree from the University of Natal, South Africa. She is certified as a Chartered Global Management Accountant in the United Kingdom by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
About Onity Group
Onity Group Inc. (NYSE: ONIT) is a leading non-bank financial services company providing mortgage servicing and originations solutions through its primary brands, PHH Mortgage and Liberty Reverse Mortgage. PHH Mortgage is one of the largest servicers in the country, focused on delivering a variety of servicing and lending programs to consumers and business clients. Liberty is one of the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lenders dedicated to providing loans that help customers meet their personal and financial needs. We are headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, with offices and operations in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, India and the Philippines, and have been serving our customers since 1988. For additional information, please visit onitygroup.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may be identified by a reference to a future period or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “look forward to” and references to goals, strategies, and agendas, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements relating to the expected contributions of our new Chief Accounting Officer.
Forward-looking statements involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in market conditions, the industry in which Onity operates, and its business, the actions of governmental entities and regulators, developments in litigation matters, and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Onity’s reports and filings with the SEC, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Anyone wishing to understand Onity Group Inc.’s business should review its SEC filings. Onity’s forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and Onity disclaims any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For Further Information Contact:
Investors:
Valerie Haertel, VP, Investor Relations
(561) 570-2969
shareholderrelations@onitygroup.com
Media:
Dico Akseraylian, SVP, Corporate Communications
(856) 917-0066
mediarelations@onitygroup.com
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Filing Exhibits & Attachments
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